Not a Potter
by booksrule.tinuri
Summary: Ginny Weasley is tired of being arm-candy instead of a wife, so she decides to leave her life with Harry Potter behind and find herself once more. But when a certain blonde-haired Slytherin gets involved, life as she knows it will never be the same again. Some OOC. All characters belong to JK Rowling. AU- Reviews are appreciated
1. Chapter 1

**Not a Potter**

 **Chapter 1**

Ginerva Molly Potter stood outside the Ministry of Magic smiling- no beaming- yes, for the first time in a long time, Ginny Potter was positively beaming. _No, not Potter_ , Ginny thought, _I'm a Weasley again_. An excited thrill went through her. Gone were the bounds of marriage, gone was the overwhelming responsibility of a new life and most importantly, gone was her good-for-nothing git of a husband Harry Potter.

Well, he wasn't really gone. He was about twenty paces behind her, trying to get his unhinged jaw to close. Ginny shrugged, it was his fault really, he should have seen it coming. Suddenly, a huge wave of giddiness came over her and she began to laugh maniacally. She laughed until tears poured out of her eyes. _Wait until the press hears about this_ , she thought, _the next headline in the Daily Prophet will be War Heroine Ginerva Weasley Divorces Husband; Loses Mind._ This was the final straw.

If anyone were to walk past the Ministry at that time, they would have seen a tangle of copper red hair. If they went a bit closer, they would have seen the pale, lightly freckled skin and honey brown eyes of Ginny Weasley underneath it, writhing on the ground with mirth.

Wiping at her eyes, Ginny stood up and took a shuddering breath. Turning around and facing the door, she put on her most serious face and walked through the swinging doors of the Ministry.

To say that Harry Potter was shocked would have been an understatement. Harry Potter was absolutely flabbergasted. He was completely astonished, so much so, that he hadn't even realised he'd had his mouth open for over five minutes. He quickly snapped it shut. _Oh, the press is going to have a hay day tomorrow,_ he thought.

"Mr Potter? Are you alright?"

He snapped his head around to see the Ministry staff member staring at him, biting her lower lip in a way that would have been endearing, if she wasn't in her mid-fifties and resembled McGonagall.

"Err… Yes, everything is fine." He replied tersely. _Other than the fact that my wife has just divorced me_.

He wondered where it had all gone wrong. Hadn't they been in love? Hadn't they lived together? Hadn't they promised they would always be with each other no matter what? So why were they getting a divorce? He racked his mind for answers to each question. Surely it couldn't be that he had neglected her, could it? He did have a busy job, he was the breadwinner for the two of them, surely she understood.

 _Maybe it was because you treated her like a tart… Arm-candy instead of a wife…_ Said the annoying voice inside his head. Harry shook his head. Surely it wasn't because of _that_.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and the witch in question tumbled in, copper hair and all.

Ginny Weasley nodded at her former husband and sat in the plush chair, turning her full attention to the Ministry official in front of her, nodding gravely. On the inside however, she was laughing with such intensity, that a single wrong move could bring all of it tumbling out.

She sat through the whole thing, feigning attention and clutching the final copies of the divorce papers in her arms as if they were her life. Standing up, Ginny gave her back a stretch and walked out of the room, right into the arms of one Harry Potter.

"Sorry" she muttered, brushing herself off.

Looking up, she saw the intense, green eyes that she had grown to love all those years ago. The shockingly messy black mop of hair that would have made her heart flutter in her ribcage and of course the lightning-bolt shaped scar that would have made her knees feel all weak if she was talking about the days she was a girl of seventeen. But she wasn't seventeen. She wasn't a girl anymore. And, most of all, she didn't love Harry-the-hero Potter.

She watched him as he scanned her face, taking in every freckle and feature, almost as if he wanted to commit it to memory. She looked down, suddenly self-conscious.

"Why?" he asked.

She snapped her eyes back up to his face.

"What?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Why have you done this?"

She thought for a bit… Where to begin?

"Harry, we were never really suited to each other…" she began, taking in the confusion etched across his features, Ginny sighed.

"Look, you were always at work and we never really spoke to each other that much, it was always hard for me because I didn't feel like you loved me enough to put me first. In simpler words, our relationship was… Dysfunctional." she finished.

 _More like… You were always out partying with friends… I knew I was always second best or lower… You always saw me as a pretty girl instead of a strong, independent woman… Our relationship was doomed,_ thought Ginny _._

She forced the tears that were threatening to spill out back into their glands and held her chin up defiantly. She was **not** going to cry in front of her ex.

Harry was staring at her dumbfounded.

"Okay" he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "but you are making a huge mistake Ginny."

And with that, Harry Potter walked out of the Ministry on Magic.

Ginerva Molly Weasley was angry. No, not angry, she was positively fuming. How could he? How could he just say that she had made a mistake?

She scowled and shook her head, apparating to the Burrow.

At the Burrow, she was immediately enveloped in a huge hug. Ginny took a deep breath, smelling the scent of soil and flowers, tainted with a bit of pumpkin pie. She smiled. _Mother_.

Looking up, she was met with the concerned brown eyes of Molly Weasley.

"Are you alright dearie?" she asked.

 _No, she most certainly was not_.

"Yes mum." she replied with a weak smile, "I'm going up to my room…"

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips and nodded as she watched Ginny trudge upstairs to her bedroom.

Upon entering her room, Ginny was met with impatient tapping. She looked to see a large tawny owl at her window with a letter and a package tied to its leg. She walked to the window and unlatched it, taking the letter and the parcel. Paying the bird, she collapsed onto her bed while ripping her letter open.

 ** _Dear Sister,_**

 ** _We heard you divorced Harry Potter. Well done! The git was horrible to you anyway, it's time he learnt his place._**

 ** _The shop is doing really well, we almost have the best business in Britain (If it weren't for that money-making prat Malfoy's potion company, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes would be the most profitable business of all time). Ron's a pain in the arse as usual, always messing things up. Just last month he ended up stuck to the front door of our Hogsmeade store for weeks because he confused the Super Gum Balls with the spherical Stick-to-Anything magnets (which really just stick to the first thing you set your eyes on). The magnetic effect only lasts for an hour, but the idiot ate the whole packet._**

 ** _Oh, but don't worry little sis, we worked our way around it by painting him to resemble the door and getting him to surprise everyone who decided to come into the shop. The only bad thing about it was when the spell wore off and he fell onto one of our customers, who just so happened to be McGonagall! (We paid them both lots and apologised profusely)._**

 ** _Anyway, back to the topic (was there one?) We are proud of you sis, and to show our gratitude, we have sent you a packet of 100 Super Gum Balls and 500 Stick-to-Anything magnets. Use them carefully. We will pay a visit soon._**

 ** _Your favourite brothers,_**

 ** _Fred & George _**

**_George & Fred_**

 ** _Gred & Feorge_**

Ginny laughed a hearty laugh at her brothers' antics and fell into the most peaceful sleep she had had for a long time, her last thought being _I'm finally a Weasley again_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Not a Potter**

 **Chapter 2**

Ronald Billius Weasley was giving a speech. It must have been a good speech too, if it weren't for the fact that no one could hear him. Ginny suspected it had something to do with Harry and his feelings and how she had made a huge mistake in divorcing him in the first place. She frowned, trying to make out a surprisingly long word attempting to make it out of his mouth. _Eeeeeeee-lllleeeeee…_ Nope, she just didn't know what to make of it. Suddenly, Ron stopped mid-tirade and shovelled another mouthful of pie. Ginny sighed, _here we go again…_

"Mmmmnph… Mnnmph….Mnph…ph…ph" said Ron, remnants of cottage pie flying out of his mouth.

It was quite mesmerising really, the way the cottage pie made arches in the air and not-so gracefully landing in the fruit bowl directly in front of him. Ginny began to count each piece, _1…2…3…4…5…_ She looked around the table for the first time and saw everyone's faces. Fred and George were nodding at him in mock-graveness while Percy was looking on with annoyance. Charlie was sniggering under his hand and Bill was trying to give a very confused Fleur an apologetic look. Arthur was not looking at Ron, but was staring rather intently at Molly, who was gradually turning a very pretty shade of purple. Hermione, who was sitting at Ron's right was trying to cover her face with a napkin whilst looking as though she desperately needed to go to the bathroom.

As another fit of laughter threatened to come out, Ginny clutched the tablecloth, wondering how long it was going to take for her mother to crack.

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY! WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS!" came the booming voice of Mrs Weasley.

Ron took one look at his mother's purple face and immediately started going a shade of red that Ginny thought wasn't humanly possible. This gradually turned to a very sickly shade of green that quickly went to a shade of purple, not unlike the one adorning Mrs Weasley's face. Ron then began to claw the air with his hands, taking gasping breaths each time he did so. He clutched at his neck, then at Hermione, then his neck again, reminding Ginny of a Muggle game Hermione had recently introduced her to called Charades. _Let's see,_ thought Ginny _, He's a werewolf transforming, no he's a cat clawing…Oh wait, no he's… Batman?_

Ginny looked on in amazement as he made wild flapping motions with his hands, knocking over a jug of pumpkin juice. Ginny always knew Hermione was the best at Charades and the fact that she got it in one didn't amaze her as it should have.

"Oh my God, he's choking!" cried Hermione.

Hermione Granger was panicking. In fact she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Wouldn't anyone be if their fiancé was choking? Hermione racked her brains for a spell that could help him but could think of none. _Oh no! Oh Sweet Merlin! Oh Salazar! Oh Godric! Oh Hel-_

Just then, Mrs Weasley jumped to action. Now, Hermione knew that Mrs Weasley wasn't an athletic woman, she wasn't really the type who would run in marathons to raise money, but rather the type who would bake cookies and give them to hungry children. But when her children were in trouble, Mrs Weasley was possibly the most athletic person that Hermione knew. The last time she had seen this in action was when she had defeated Bellatrix in the Final Battle seven years ago.

So when Hermione saw Mrs Weasley jump onto the dining table, wand raised and a spell on her lips, she didn't know whether to be surprised or to be shocked, so her face ended up being a strange concoction of both.

"NOLITE SUFFOCATIO!" yelled Mrs Weasley, her wand poised at Ron's throat and a jet of light blue sparks coming out of the end.

Suddenly, Hermione realised that Ron had stopped choking and was now gagging. She quickly dove for cover under the table. She closed her eyes, listening to the unmistakable sound of an abnormally large amount of cottage pie coming out of Ron's mouth. She sighed. She had never really liked his eating habits.

Ron was sitting on the Weasley's couch sipping some hot chocolate and wrapped up in three layers of blankets. He was feeling very sorry for himself. It wasn't his fault really, that his mother made delicious cottage pie, and his sister was hurting his best friend. He pouted and took another sip of the hot chocolate, when did life get so complicated again?

The door to the sitting room opened and a head full of copper curls peeked in. The head tilted to the side and grinned. Ron scowled in return. The copper curls sighed and made its way into the sitting room. Ginny sat down on the couch as Ron eyed her critically. He had always known that his sister was pretty, but now, for the first time, he saw something different behind those honey brown eyes and lightly freckled skin. Her smile wasn't one of innocence anymore, but one of wisdom, her eyes that were once wide open in childish wonder were now filled to the brim with the knowledge of one who has endured a war. Sitting on the couch in front of him was not Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister and Harry Potter's girl, but Ginny Weasley, the woman who had fought in the war, fought the good fight and stayed loyal to her family through and through.

Ginny Weasley wasn't a girl anymore, but a woman. And this realisation shocked him.

Ginny sat under her brother's gaze, squirming uncomfortably. She was certainly getting examined a lot these past couple of days.

"Errrr… Look… Ron… I-"she started, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Save it." said Ron.

Ginny winced, she knew her brother would be very angry and she didn't blame him, but she should at least get to explain her little predicament!

"Well-" she tried again.

"No, there is nothing for you to say Gin, I forgive you. In fact, I'm sorry I was acting like a git earlier, I shouldn't have."

Ginny sat in stunned silence, her brother had just forgiven her. _Hermione must be rubbing off on him,_ she concluded.

"Err… Well… Aren't you upset?" _Oh, way to go Ginny, your brother has just forgiven you and now you have to go ahead and open your big mouth._

Ron took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh.

"Yes, yes I am upset."

Ginny could almost hear something break inside her. He was upset and it was her fault.

"But, you are old enough to make your own decisions and I respect that Gin."

Ginny felt as though she could fly. A wave of relief washed over her and a wide smile spread across her face. She launched herself at her brother and enveloped him in a hug.

"Oh, Ron!" she cried.

Ron patted her back awkwardly and laughed.

"It's good to see you happy again Gin"

"It's good to be happy again!"

Ginerva Weasley was ecstatic as she spoke to her brother about things like quidditch and the weather. Her brother had accepted her. She reached into her bag and took out a spherical object.

"Oh, do you want a Super Gum Ball, Ron? Fred and George sent me some." asked Ginny in a mock-sweet voice.

Ron's eyes went round as he went a spectacular shade of red.

"NO!" he cried, running out of the room.

If anyone saw the Burrow that night, they would see a warm and inviting house full of life. But, if anyone was close enough to hear it, they would be able to hear Ginny Weasley's laughter, ringing through the halls, like a single happy sound in the dark and lonely world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Not a Potter**

 **Chapter 3**

Draco Malfoy was bored. Insanely bored. No, wrong term- Draco Malfoy was _sanely_ bored. See when you were insanely bored, you were bored but had lost your mind anyway. But when you were sanely bored, you were bored and you weren't crazy. And, Draco, I'm sorry to say, was a very sane man.

Draco sighed for the umpteenth time. When was this guy ever going to get the idea that inflatable underwear was not going to be the next best thing?

"And you see sir, this chord here, you pull it and poof! The underwear inflates!"

Draco was calculating how painful it would be to kill oneself with a fountain pen when the door opened and Blaise Zambini sauntered in. Draco almost burst with happiness. Almost.

"I'm sorry sir, but your time is up. Mr Malfoy will get back to you with his decision within a week." said Blaise, pushing the man through the door.

Draco sighed with relief as the door closed behind him. Blaise looked up and grinned.

"So?" he asked.

"So what?"

"How was the business deal?" he asked again, pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey.

"It was great… If you don't count the fact that he was trying to sell me inflatable underwear." replied Draco.

Blaise spat out his drink.

"What! Oh that's rich!" he said shaking with laughter.

Draco smiled, it was nice to see his best friend laugh again, especially after his mother had died and his father was sent to Azkaban. Draco was the only family he had left now. Blaise stopped laughing and looked at Draco.

"Any plans for tonight, mate?" he asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you Zambini, I'm not ready to go that far with you yet!" Draco cried.

Blaise blinked once.

Then twice.

And then started to laugh again.

"Wow… You are so dirty-minded mate!" he wheezed between laughs.

"No Zambini, your mind is just too clean." Draco replied, causing Blaise to laugh harder.

"So I saw this girl today-"said Blaise.

"Oh how wonderfully rare and exciting!" said Draco, with mock enthusiasm.

"Oh shut up, anyway so I saw her and my mind instantly goes "Damn, she is hot", so I-"

"Pffffft." said Draco.

"What was that for?" asked Blaise.

"As if you would know if a girl is hot or not."

"I do too!" cried Blaise indignantly.

"You wouldn't know if a girl is hot if she danced naked in front of you yelling "I'm hot!". Wait, let me rephrase that, You wouldn't know if a girl is hot ** _until_** she dances naked in front of you yelling "I'm hot!" explained Draco.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are impossible?" Blaise asked.

"Yes."

"Really? Who?"

"My mother." replied Draco as he watched a half-drunk Blaise melt into a fit of laughter once again.

Draco sighed as he carried a drunk and sleeping Blaise into his apartment. Heaving him onto the bed, Draco brushed himself and made some Pepper-Up potion for Blaise's inevitable hangover in the morning. Smirking as Blaise muttered something about hippogriffs eating his arm, Draco placed the vial of red liquid on his bedside table before preparing himself to apparate back to his apartment.

Now, it was no secret that Draco was a rich man. So, naturally, he had to have the most expensive apartment, also known as the Penthouse apartment. In fact, it wasn't an apartment but more of a house. Draco sighed and took off his coat, he seemed to be sighing a lot lately. He sat on his elegant couch, sprawling himself across the plush cushions. _Thank Merlin for comfortable sofas_ , he thought. Suddenly, there was a hiss and the sound of soft foot falls coming from the fireplace. Draco froze and slowly, but deftly took his wand in his hand. The footsteps got closer and closer until Draco realised that they were right behind the couch that he was currently occupying. He shot out his wand and aimed it at the intruder.

"EXPELLI- Oh." the spell died on his lips as he saw a beautiful, stern-faced woman staring at him through narrowed eyes. _Mother_.

Draco scratched the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.

"Evening, mother." he tried, getting an eye-roll in return.

"Draco, your wand is still at my throat." said his mother's mesmerizing voice.

Looking at his wand arm, Draco managed to lower it, whilst going slightly pink.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

His mother sighed and Draco noticed the small wrinkles that were slowly, but surely forming around her eyes.

"It's alright Draco, it's just that, I wish you didn't have to be on your guard with everything that you did." Her blue eyes seemed to glaze up as she said this and Draco was afraid she would cry.

He wasn't one to be very reassuring towards others, especially his mother. Slowly, he looked at the woman who had tried to raise him. The woman who had defied her own husband and the Dark Lord to ensure his safety. The woman who had sung him lullabies as she healed the wounds his father had inflicted on him. The only woman who had showed him what true, unconditional love was. Now, she sat on his couch, looking at him with the same concern she had shown all those years ago, hiding the scars and horrors that she had faced behind her bright blue eyes, silken white-blond locks and pale white skin. Sitting in front of him was the bravest woman he knew. Draco could almost cry. Almost.

As abruptly as it had come, the glazed-faraway look in her eyes seemed to disappear as she looked up at Draco and smiled a magnificent smile.

"So, Draco, how was your day? Any new business deals?" she asked, with fake enthusiasm.

Draco sighed, it was the usual conversation.

"Err… Nothing that would interest you mother, or anyone else for that matter." he replied, telling her about the Inflatable-Underwear fiasco.

She laughed a silvery laugh and Draco smiled in satisfaction, now this was something he **could** handle.

"Oh…My! Some people are just so… Strange!" she said between laughs.

Draco grinned as she struggled to compose herself and finally succeeding after laughing for five minutes straight.

"Oh! I just remembered the reason I came here! Oh Draco, I found this simply wonderful girl who I know you would just love and-" she started.

Draco groaned loudly. _Not the get-married-so-I-can-have-some-grandbabies talk._ It was a classic. His mother frowned.

"Well, you are twenty-four now, you should at least think about settling down." she reasoned.

"I'm twenty-four, I should be thinking about which party I should go to next and how many friends I have!" he shot back.

His mother gave an indignant sniff and muttered something about "stubborn little rascals", before sighing.

"Fine, but remember Draco, sometimes you can find love where you least expect it so don't forget to give everyone a chance." she said cryptically.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

His mother just smiled a mischievous smile and went through the fireplace once again. Draco watched her smiling face before it got completely engulfed in green flames. He sighed. _Women._

The next morning, Draco was completely engrossed in a new potion he was working on when Blaise barged into his office, without knocking as usual.

"Mate, there is this thing called a door that I usually keep closed when I'm busy and YOU'RE NOT WELCOME!" Draco yelled.

Blaise didn't answer but thrust the latest edition of the Daily Prophet towards across his desk.

"This is crazy dude, who would have thought, eh? Trouble in Paradise." he said.

"I refuse to read crazy drivel." said Draco, bluntly.

"Oh, come on mate, you need a break, this will give you one, trust me." Blaise tried.

Draco sighed and picked up the newspaper, brushing a blonde lock out of his eyes. His eyes went round as he read the headline that had somehow made the front page. He looked at Blaise who was grinning like a madman as he read the headline out loud.

 ** _"Harry Potter Divorces Wife and War Heroine Ginerva Weasley;"_**

 _ **"Weasley Accused of Cheating on Potter"**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Not a Potter**

 **Chapter 4**

For the second time in two days, Ginerva Molly Weasley was furious. Absolutely furious. In fact, she was so mad, that no one dared to come within a ten metre radius of her. Ron had tried to smile at her, but had earned a glare filled with such venom, that he didn't dare to even look at her again. Bill and Fleur had gone back to Shell Cottage a few hours ago and as soon as they had seen the headline on The Daily Prophet, Fred and George had apparated back to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in an act of what they called "self-preservation" from the "red-haired monster". Charlie and Mr Weasley had raced out of the house muttering something about "fixing the car", Mrs Weasley had gone to Diagon Alley to get something or the other, taking Hermione with her and Percy had gone straight back to work. So the only people inside the burrow was Ginny, who was fuming on the couch and Ron, who was hiding upstairs, making as little noise as possible.

Ginny sighed, it wasn't his fault really, that someone had written a completely false article about her in The Prophet.

"Roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon! I'm sorry! You can come down now." Ginny called.

There was silence throughout the house when slowly but surely, she heard timid, cautious footsteps come down the stairs and a head of red hair popped into the sitting room. Ron looked up at her and smiled. Ginny smiled back weakly. After a somewhat awkward silence, Ron began to speak.

"Hey, Gin, I think the person that you have to talk to in this case is Harry. I think he will know who did it because he is the one who gave them a statement."

Ginny thought for a bit before realising he was right.

"Okay." she replied, before grabbing a copy of The Daily Prophet and apparating to Harry's apartment.

Harry Potter was a finished man, this he knew. After looking at The Daily Prophet, he instantly began to bang his head against the kitchen counter. So much for telling The Prophet to make it look like he was the one who had divorced Ginny for the sake of his ego. Harry decided to get it over and done with. He stomped deliberately over to the balcony in his apartment and took a deep breath.

"I REGRET LIFE!" he cried.

"WELL, APART FROM THE FACT THAT I DEFEATED VOLDEMORT IN MY SEVENTH YEAR, THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, **I REGRET LIFE**!" he yelled once again.

Harry composed himself and walked back into his apartment, contemplating how life became so complicated. He was preparing to wallow in his misery on his couch when he heard the doorbell ring. _Oh, Sweet Merlin, it's Ginny!_

He took a deep breath and placed a cushioning charm over his entire body before he went to answer the door.

When Ginny rang the doorbell to Harry's apartment, she was met with two startlingly green eyes and a shock of messy black hair.

"Err… HEY GINNY! WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE I WONDER… HMM…" said the shock of black hair.

"Harry, why are you yelling?" she asked him.

"YELLING? OH! RIGHT, err… Would you like to come inside, Gin?" he asked uneasily.

"Okay…" she replied as she stepped onto the plush brown carpet and gazed around.

The apartment had not changed a bit since she had last been here, which was to be expected, as she had only been away for two days. She sat down on the beige couch and looked at Harry's cowering figure. Pointing to the headline on the Prophet, Ginny began her interrogation.

"Harry, did you have anything to do with this?" she asked.

"NO!" he cried, looking a bit sick as he did so. "YES!"

Ginny sighed, I mean of course he had to go around ruining her life, even after the divorce.

"Let me guess, it was to heal your already sore ego and sacrifice my dignity in the process?" Ginny asked.

Harry winced, then winced again. Ginny sighed. She wasn't angry anymore but tired, just plain tired.

"Harry Potter you complete and utter butthead." she said as she stood up.

Ginny pulled her fist back and pummelled it into his face, revelling in the satisfaction of the distinct crunching noise coming from his nose. She sighed in satisfaction as he doubled over in pain _, the one up side to having six older brothers_ , she thought.

"AHHH… I FORGOT TO CUSHION MY FACE!" he yelled as Ginny apparated back home.

Now, Ron Weasley wasn't the sharpest cookie, everyone knew that much, but the still loved him nevertheless. So when he realised that Ginny wasn't acting herself and there was something wrong, he was immensely proud of himself, so proud, in fact, that he marched right up to his fiancé, who was reading a book, and announced to her his great realisation.

"Something is wrong with Ginny." he said wisely.

"I noticed." she replied, not looking up from her book.

"You did!" he said, an expression of surprise on his face.

His fiancé simply nodded and flipped the page of her book. He shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Well, what should we do about it?" he asked

"Nothing, Ginny will tell us what is wrong in her own time and we'll deal with it then." replied Hermione, waving her hand in dismissal.

Ron looked at his future wife with a puzzled expression on his face. He wondered when she had gotten so cryptic about life, but decided to let it be. _She wasn't called the Smartest Witch of her age for nothing…_

Ginerva Weasley was feeling rotten through dinner that night. Her head pounded and her eyes were burning from the tears she was attempting to leave strictly behind her eyelids. All she could think was _how could he?_

"Ginny dear, is everything alright?" asked the ever-concerned Mrs Weasley.

Ginny looked up from her bowl of chicken soup that she had been stirring for over an hour and nodded. Mrs Weasley's lips pursed in a thin line as she sniffed indignantly and Ginny prayed that she wouldn't persist with the matter any further. Luckily, Mrs Weasley seemed to read her thoughts and the conversation around the dinner table turned to Fred and George's booming business.

"Well, we have this "Business Dinner", as they call it, tomorrow and it is a very formal occasion." said Fred.

"But we all know that it is just an excuse for all the rich business owners to get together and be pompous arses!" continued George.

"George! Language!" cried Mrs Weasley as Ginny stifled a giggle behind her hand.

"Anyway, we were hoping that you would all come so we can show you what it's like in the world of business." said Fred.

"Nothing shady of course!"

Hermione looked at Ron and sighed,

"Sorry Fred, George, but Ron and I have kind of got something planned tomorrow."

"Does it involve beds?" said Fred, slyly.

"Oh and strange noises?" said George.

"With a bit of rolling around?" put in Fred.

"And a whole lot of snog-"

"ENOUGH!" yelled Mrs Weasley.

Ginny was laughing outright as she saw that Ron and Hermione's faces had gone a deep red colour.

"I'll have you know that Arthur and I will be going with Ron and Hermione tomorrow so we can meet her parents and discuss a place for the wedding." explained Mrs Weasley in a stern voice, "so we won't be coming and Charlie will be going back to Romania, so he won't come either." Mrs Weasley turned to Ginny expectantly.

Ginny sighed.

"Alright, I'll come." she said.

The twins whooped and Ginny smiled, _at least it will take my mind off Harry_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Not a Potter**

 **Chapter 5**

Draco was getting very hacked off by his mother. Just today he had woken up with a magazine on his face, turned to the page with "Wizarding England's Most Eligible Bachelorettes" on it. Yesterday a not so subtle note was left on his toast with "Will You Marry Me?" written on it, this had made Draco increasingly uneasy and he jumped around every time he heard or saw something that looked like it had romantic intentions towards it, even girls. He shuddered as he took the offending magazine off his face, gave it a venomous glare and threw it in the bin. He ran his fingers through his hair and opened a cupboard to look for something "breakfast-worthy".

POOF!

All of a sudden, Draco was covered in red and pink hearts that had poured out of the cupboard. He sighed, slamming the cupboard door. _Screw breakfast, I'm taking a shower_.

Draco was later than usual when he took his seat in his office at _Brew or Fly: Potions and Broomsticks_ , not that he would get in trouble of course, considering the fact that he owned the place. Blaise watched as his friend sat down and immediately began brewing another potion. He shuffled his feet a bit to get Draco's attention, but it seemed that he was refusing to look up. Blaise decided to be very discreet about getting his friend's attention.

"AHEM!" he tried. Draco continued to ignore him.

"AHEM AHEM!" he tried again.

"AHEM AHEM AH-"

"WHAT?" yelled Draco.

Blaise winced. _Yeah, real discreet mate_ , he thought to himself.

"Uh, we have a "Business Dinner" to organise today, mate." said Blaise, timidly.

Draco looked up at the calendar with wide eyes and uttered a string of profanities that I dare not write here. He leaped out of his seat and transfigured his shirt and pants into dress robes and prepared to apparate away when Blaise tapped his shoulder.

"Um, mate, there is a pink heart in your hair, it's quite noticeable…" he said.

Draco sighed, his mother will get a good talking to once he got home.

"OWWWWWWWWWW!" cried Ginny, as Hermione pulled a comb through her knotty hair.

"IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY?"

Hermione sighed. Some people were just plain ungrateful.

"Yes, Gin, you have to look great, especially with all the handsome men attending, you have to look your best." she calmly explained.

"OWWWW! I DON'T CARE ABOUT HANDSOME MEN!" Ginny yelled, closing her eyes.

"Of course you don't." said Hermione, stuffing a bobby pin into the elaborate bun she had manoeuvred into Ginny's hair.

Stepping back to admire her handiwork, Hermione gave a satisfied smile, oh Ginny Weasley was going to turn heads tonight, whether she liked it or not.

Draco wasn't very good at planning, he was great at a lot of things, but planning was just not one of them. So when he was told he was going to plan the "Business Dinner" and had to be there by ten in the morning, he was understandably nervous. Luckily, his friend had made sure everything had gone to plan and Draco was given the very hard task of nodding his head at everything Blaise said.

"So, as I was saying, dessert will be supplied by _Puffed Puffskeins_ , the very prestigious restaurant that specialises in puddings and pastries alike and…Mate, are you even listening?"

Draco snapped his head up from the floor and nodded his head at his best friend, flashing an encouraging smile that could potentially make one's heart melt. Blaise, however, rolled his eyes and threw a package at him.

"Here, there are some decorations in here, hang them as you please." he said, waving a hand dismissively.

Draco gave his friend a glare as he walked passed, then took out a string of Weasley's Super Long Streamers, designed to both change colour and create the effect of fireworks going off at the same time. Draco was quite impressed by the Weasley's newest creation, before a firework exploded on his hair. Swearing with his hair askew, Draco proceeded to hang the streamers up, dreaming of being in a place that wasn't a hall, doing something that wasn't planning a "Business Dinner".

Ginny squirmed in her dress. It was three things mainly. Tight, short and green. Yep, she, Ginny Weasley was wearing a Slytherin-green dress. Well, to be fair, it wasn't all green. In fact only the bottom layer was a sort of emerald green. The dress was tight at the top, hugging her chest, much to her dismay and flared down to her knees, creating a bell shape. Although the bottom layer was green, the top was pure black lace, twirling with intricate flowers from roses to daisies.

She pulled the dress down self-consciously, trying to cover her thin legs but to no avail. She felt her hair and realised that Hermione had somehow put her waist-length hair into an intricate bun, with some loose curls framing her face and a green rose stuck to its side. Ginny looked into the mirror and was met with her own shocked face. Her cheeks, that were usually a strange tomato-red, were now a very becoming shade of pink and her honey coloured eyes were now framed with long, dark lashes that cast shadows on her cheeks. Her lips were a beautiful pink colour, glossed and shining and dangling from her ears were a pair of long, silver and green earrings.

Ginny twirled. For the first time in a long time, she looked… _Passable_ , she thought, _just passable_.

"HERMIONE! Which spells did you use on my face for me to look like this?" cried Ginny as she ran down the stairs of the Burrow.

Hermione looked up from her book on magical plants and looked Ginny up and down. Satisfied, she gave a small nod and smiled.

"Answer me! I need to write them down!"

Hermione sighed.

"Nothing."

"What?" asked Ginny, confusion etched across her features.

"Nothing." Hermione repeated.

Ginny gave her a quizzical look and laughed.

"Okay…Tell me when I get back." she yelled as she ran out of the door.

Hermione sighed once again as she watched Ginny's retreating figure. _When will she realise that she is beautiful?_ Thought Hermione. She shrugged and went back to reading the fifty uses for mugwort.

Fred and George Weasley had seen many things in their short lives. They had seen a war, a nose-less man and Professor Snape's unimaginably hairy legs. But nothing could have prepared them for what they saw on that warm Saturday night that they were waiting to pick up Ginny on.

Fred saw it first.

"Hey George, look over there!"

"Where?"

"There!"

"What?"

"Over there you blind git!"

"Wher- Oh! Is that who I think it is?"

"GINNY!" they both cried at the same time.

"YOU LOOK GREAT!" they chorused again, frowning at each other.

Slowly but surely, out of the shadows came Ginny, no longer the girl they had come to love, but the woman that she had grown to be. And for this, they loved her more.

"If you go anywhere near the alcoholic drinks Draco, I swear you will not hear the end of it!" said the voice of one Narcissa Malfoy.

"Yes, mother." Draco mumbled.

"And I swear if you aren't back by one in the morning, I'll send the elves to get you."

"I know mother."

"Oh, and if I hear that Blaise gets lost or hurt, I will not hesitate to kill whoever did it to him, tell him that."

Draco looked at his mother. The dangerous glint in her eyes told him that she was not joking. Draco nodded quickly.

"And if you-" Narcissa began.

"I get it mother." Draco said quickly.

Narcissa sighed and gently cupped either side of Draco's face with her soft, white hands.

"Just stay safe." she said as she planted a feather-light kiss on her son's forehead.

Draco closed his eyes, revelling in the safety and warmth of his mother's touch.

Narcissa suddenly looked away and muttered at the man that was and will always be a child, deprived of a mother's love.

"I'd better be going…"

She took one last look at the man in front of her and turned around. _A man that will always be her child._

"Awww… Come on guys, tell me who organised it, please?"

Fred and George smiled at each other mischievously and turned to Ginny.

"Oh no, we can't." said George, slyly.

"We really mustn't." put in Fred.

"But why?" asked Ginny.

"Well…" went on Fred.

"We could be arrested!" cried George.

"WHAT?!" yelled Ginny, who was quickly shushed by the twins.

"But if you really want to know…" they chorused together, looking around in mock fear.

"NO! DON'T TELL ME! I DON'T WANT TO G-" Ginny began to yell.

Suddenly, Fred and George grabbed both of Ginny's hands and put them on the Portkey, stifling their laughter through Ginny's loud protests.

Draco looked around the party cautiously. A suspicious looking group of girls hovered around him, looking as though they wanted to speak to him. He took a step back. _Think, Draco, think. Should I try the wave or the charming smile?_ He thought.

Deeming a wave dorky, he went with the charming smile. The group of girls that were swarming him seemed to melt to the floor all at once, fanning themselves. And with this, Draco made his getaway, retreating to another room. Draco sighed, they were all the same. Tall, pretty but without an ounce of intellect. Charming and well-mannered, but without a proper personality to go with it. Sinking into a chair, Draco closed his eyes and revelled in his solitude. His solitude that lasted for exactly 3.4 seconds.

"STOP! PUT ME DOWN! HELP!" cried Ginny, as she felt her chuckling brothers carry her into an extravagantly decorated but small room.

"Seriously, Weasleys? You had to kidnap a woman to get them to come with you?" came a low, husky voice that sounded to Ginny like all her favourite, soothing songs mixed together.

Depositing their sister on the ground, the twins turned to Draco and smiled.

"Hello, old chap." said Fred.

"Meet out little sis." added George as Ginny stood and brushed herself off, glaring at her brothers.

She looked up to the man that they were addressing and nearly gasped. His robes were neatly pressed, but ruffled in what seemed to be just the right places. They were a trim black colour, lined with emerald and worn over a green waist-coat. The robe went down to his ankles, ending at his neat black shoes and on his neck, a sightly skewed bowtie was glinting in its green-sequinned glory. He was very tall, so tall in fact, she had to tilt her head upwards to see his face. And oh what a face it was.

He had high cheek-bones, with sharp chiselled features to suit his very muscular (but not too muscular) build. His cheeks were slightly pink-tinged, highlighting his flawless skin. His eyes were a deep and startling grey, like a storm, but they were so calm, they almost put Ginny to sleep. His hair framed his face, falling into his eyes and casting shadows on his cheeks. But the colour, the colour was what startled Ginny the most. It was blonde, so blonde it appeared white and glowed a strange gold colour when the light illuminated his face. _He looks handsomely familiar_ , Ginny thought. Then it hit her, and it must have hit him too because he stopped gazing at her in a sort of trance and his pink-tinged lips parted.

"WEASELETTE?!" he cried.

"FERRET-BOY?!" she yelled.


End file.
